It Happened One Heist

The Poison

As soon as the two thieves returned to Fiske Castle Monkey Fist changed out of his ninja fatigues and took a shower to wash off all remnants of the hallucinogenic powder. The traces were very minuscule, but just to be on the safe side Maggie had donned her protective lab gear while she saw to it that his clothes were washed.

Monkey Fist rinsed out his hair, still catching himself shivering from the mental traces left of that nightmare. He had to stop to remind himself it was all over, that what he experienced just hours ago was but an illusion. However that didn't mean it had never happened.

A horrific experience from years past when he was visiting the Amazon rainforest. His group had only just happened to come across a slash-and-burn party and he couldn't save any of the fauna there. Not unless he wanted to get caught in the flames as well. He had protested such careless destruction and tried taking his case to the government officials who could have stopped it, but they always favored the corporations that "needed" the grazing land for their livestock.

He switched off the water and toweled himself off. The nightmares to follow that unfortunate trip had persisted for quite some time. Always of looking up and a large acre of land being set ablaze. Over the years the nightmares scaled back to the ones of an appliance with an exposed wire catching fire, but the root cause was still the same. He would always wake up before the fires went out of hand, but he was still overcome with that feeling of guilt. That he should have done more to prevent it.

He ought to at least have gotten revenge. On many occasions he recalled that before he left Brazil he could have assassinated those corrupt government officials as a warning to others. By then he had had sufficient training in ninjutsu that he could have found out where those bastards lived, broken in, and slit their throats in their sleep. But he knew the problem was far bigger than he was. Corporate interests were a global infestation, and eliminating a few of the smaller nests would only do so much. Hardly worth the blood on his hands.

No. As soon as he learned that there was truth to the legends of mystical monkey power he realized a better way. He would have humanity beneath his heels. As the ultimate Monkey Master he would have his revenge...

But for now, there was the fact that he had been forced to relive that nightmare in the first place. Monkey Fist threw some trousers on and descended down the stairs as he slipped into his robe, paying little mind to the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath. Given the urgency of the matter he hadn't the time to be concerned with modesty around his business partner.

She herself was waiting in the parlor with the monkey ninjas after disposing of her lab coat in a plastic bag to be washed later.

"What happened to me?" Monkey Fist demanded as soon as he was within earshot. Maggie looked up at him storming in and he added, "You never told me I'd be in the midst of chemical warfare!"

"Monty, I swear I had no idea that was going to happen!" Maggie promised. She had been horrifically caught off-guard by the situation herself.

"Then why did you happen to leave the very antidote I needed on my person?"

"You never know with these things!" she defended. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared! Besides, what if you had gone loopy from that stuff for the guard dogs? You'd need an antidote for that, too!"

"Hmm..." Monkey Fist stood down. He took a seat in his chair as he continued, "Very well. But just what was that chemical?"

Maggie brought in a tea tray and set it on the end-table, having taken the liberty of brewing some chamomile while he showered.

"I didn't tell you about my ex-husband?" Maggie questioned as she poured a cup. "Well, strap in."

She handed the cup to Monkey Fist and sat down on the end of the sofa, leaning on the armrest in his direction while the monkey ninjas followed suit on the other end, eager for story-time.